Happy Money Personal Loans Review: Ideal for Consolidating High-Interest Debt

Happy Money personal loans were designed for one specific purpose: to help you pay off high-interest credit card debt. Strictly speaking, Happy Money isn't a bank. Instead, it partners with other financial institutions to originate loans. Still, if you're asking "is Happy Money legit?" The answer is yes. Happy Money are for borrowers who are serious about eliminating their credit card debt. In our complete Happy Money review, we'll explore the great things about a Happy Money, as well as features that could be improved upon.

This personal loan is a good fit for: Borrowers with good credit looking to consolidate high-interest debt.

Top perks

Low APRs: Happy Money's lowest APRs are among the lowest personal loan rates. It's likely to be much lower than the interest rate on your credit card. Happy Money is able to keep its interest rates low by minimizing risk to itself (meaning it only accepts highly-qualified borrowers). Happy Money requires borrowers to have a higher FICO® Score than many other lenders, as well as a lower debt-to-income ratio than other lenders.

Long loan terms: Happy Money's loan terms range from 24 to 60 months. Borrowers can pick a repayment term that is long enough to give them some breathing room in their budgets. The longer the loan term, the lower the monthly payment. The shorter the loan term, the less a consumer ends up paying in interest.

No hidden fees: Happy Money only charges one fee: An origination fee of between 0% and 5% of the loan amount. In fact, they've eliminated fees that some other lenders cling to, like late fees, prepayment fees, and returned check fees.

Free FICO® Scores: If you accept a loan from Happy Money, you'll get access to a free FICO® Score that updates once per month. Access to your FICO® Score is valuable, as it allows you to keep track of the three-digit number used by lenders to determine your creditworthiness. As you pay down credit card debt, you'll likely see an improvement in your score as you'll lower your credit utilization ratio. Many free credit scores you find online are just simulations or approximations of your true credit score.

Apply without harming your credit score: While this feature isn't unique to Happy Money, it is invaluable. Happy Money will give you a quote for a loan by doing a soft credit check, which won't hurt your credit. Happy Money will only carry out a hard credit check if you decide to move ahead with the loan. This enables you to shop around for a low rate without having multiple inquiries weigh down your credit score.

Large loan amounts: A Happy Money loan can range in size from $5,000 to $40,000, which makes it a great one-stop shop for people looking for loans for debt consolidation.

What could be improved

APR range: The upper range of a Happy Money loan interest rate is in line with the APRs charged by many credit cards -- though credit card interest can add up a lot faster, as you don't have a fixed payment plan.

How significant is APR? Let's say you take out a $10,000 loan for 24 months. With a 24.99% interest rate, your monthly payment would be about $533. The total amount you repay in those two years would be around $12,800, or $2,800 more than you originally borrowed.

Minimum loan amount: With a minimum loan amount of $5,000, a Happy Money loan is not the right fit for someone looking to borrow a smaller amount.

Happy Money is very clear about the types of borrowers who are likely to get approved for one of its personal loans. Here are the basic Happy Money requirements:

• Credit score of at least 640
• Healthy debt-to-income (DTI) ratio (under 50%)
• Three years or more of good credit history
• No more than one outstanding installment loan
• No current delinquencies and no delinquencies greater than 90 days in the past 12 months

Application process

The personal loan application process with Happy Money is simple. It works like this:

• Fill out an online form and find out what your interest rate will be. Because it's a soft credit check, it does not impact your credit score.
• If you're happy with the interest rate, select the offer that works best for you -- including how long you want to take to repay the loan -- and finish your application.
• Review the terms, verify your information, and electronically sign the loan documents.
• Funds are electronically deposited into your account.

No matter how good a loan appears at first glance, it's worth making sure that another of the best personal loans doesn't offer better terms. For example:

• Marcus charges no extra fees -- ever. Unlike Happy Money, it won't even charge an origination fee. You'll also need a good credit score to qualify and you'll find repayment terms of 36 to 72 months.
• Upstart has no minimum credit score requirement and allows you to repay your loan in 36 to 60 months. If you're looking for a very small personal loan, Upstart loans are available for as little as $1,000.

A Happy Money loan is a solid option for people who have good incomes and good credit scores but simply got into trouble with high-interest credit card debt. If the following statements apply to you, consider Happy Money.

• You want to pay off credit card debt. Happy Money is solely interested in borrowers who want to use their loans for debt consolidation.
• You need more time to pay off your balances. Happy Money personal loans are designed for people who need more than two years to pay off high-interest debt. If you have a modest amount of debt that you can repay over the course of a year, a balance transfer card may be a better solution. The best balance transfer cards offer a 0% intro APR for 12 to 18 months.
• You have a relatively high credit score and a reasonable DTI. Happy Money generally requires a FICO® Score of 640 or higher and a debt-to-income ratio of 50% or less. It is not designed for people who have a lot of late payments or other major negative marks on their credit reports.